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This chicken and corn chowder recipe is cozy, flavorful, and easy to make. Bacon makes this recipe extra delicious!
You may also like my Ham and Corn Chowder, which was inspired by this one.
Why you’ll love it
Corn chowder is already comforting, but pairing it with juicy chicken and crispy bacon takes it over the top in this simple recipe that’s made all in one pot. It’s one of my go-to meals in late summer especially, but I find myself craving it year-round.
Corn is good any time of year if you buy it frozen, but there’s something special about enjoying corn when it’s in season in late summer through fall. Corn chowder always hits the spot as the weather starts to turn a little crisp. I also love using it in my Creamy Corn Chowder and this Salmon Chowder!
What exactly is chowder?
- Ok, so we’ve all heard the word “chowder” and know that it’s a soup, but why are some soups called chowders while others aren’t? So, according to the internet, chowders are soups that are often thickened by way of a roux. That’s pretty much what we’re doing here since we’ve got the flour as our main thickening agent. Other methods include broken crackers.
- They typically contain fish, clams, or corn with potatoes and onions. I don’t know about you, but it seems like a weird definition. Like why group fish and clams with potatoes, corn, and onions and decide to classify it as “chowder” rather than “soup”? If anyone wants to do more in-depth research than I’ve conducted or knows why, please let me know. 😛
Ingredients for it
- Bacon – I find it’s easiest to cut up bacon with kitchen shears
- Chicken – we’re using chicken breasts in this recipe
- Onion, garlic, and celery – for the tasty base of the soup
- Flour – a thickening agent
- Chicken broth – a 32 oz carton of broth equals 4 cups. Just pour the entire thing in for this recipe. If you’re sensitive to salt, I suggest using low-sodium chicken broth. Chicken stock works too!
- Corn – feel free to use fresh corn (just cut if off the cob with a knife) if you have some. Canned corn isn’t quite as good, so I’d choose frozen over canned.
- Heavy cream – for added richness and thickness
- Potatoes – we prefer Russet in this recipe
- Italian seasoning – it’s a blend of dried herbs in a single convenient jar
- Cayenne – a pinch of cayenne pepper is optional but adds a little warmth
How to make chicken and corn chowder
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Cook your bacon in a large pot until crispy, then take it out of the pot and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the grease in the pot. This adds so much flavor to the soup! Sauté the onion and celery in it.
Stir in the flour, and cook it for about a minute to cook out that “flour” taste. Add the garlic to the pot, and deglaze with the chicken broth.
Put in the remaining ingredients, saving some of the bacon for topping it later, and simmer until the potatoes are done and the soup has thickened as desired. Season with salt & pepper and garnish with chopped scallions if you like.
Pro tip
- I’ve had a few people ask me in the comments if the chicken should be added in raw. Yes! There’s no need to pre-cook it because it has plenty of time to cook in the soup. Over-cooking chicken makes it dry and rubbery.
Substitutions and variations
- I have tested this chicken chowder recipe with other potatoes besides Russets. I made this with 1.5 pounds of yellow little potatoes (baby Yukon golds) cut into halves/quarters and it turned out fine, but I prefer Russets.
- We don’t recommend substituting the heavy cream for something with a lower fat content. We’re not using a ton of it here, and it makes the chowder that much tastier!
- This is a fairly thick soup. If you like a thinner consistency better, just add a little more broth or water as necessary.
What to serve with it
- It’s one of those meals that’s perfect on its own with a big slice of crusty bread.
- If you do want to pair it with a salad, try this Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- This chowder will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Simply reheat in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally until warmed through.
- You could try to freeze it, but sometimes dairy doesn’t hold up after thawing, so the texture may change. It should still taste fine, though. If you plan to have a lot of leftovers, you can leave the cream out before freezing and add it in later!
Will you give this chicken and corn chowder a try? Questions? Ask me in the comments. 🙂
Easy Chicken and Corn Chowder
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon cut into small pieces
- 2 large uncooked chicken breasts cut into small bite-size pieces
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 2 cups frozen or fresh corn
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 3 medium-to-large Russet potatoes peeled & diced
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- Pinch cayenne pepper optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Scallions chopped, optional for serving
Instructions
- Prep your bacon (I find kitchen shears the easiest thing to cut it up with) and add it to a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook until crispy (about 10 minutes).
- Meanwhile, prep your onion, celery, chicken and potatoes.
- Once the bacon is crispy, take it out of the pot and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Leave the grease in the pot (it adds a ton of flavor).
- Add the onion and celery to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute, stirring nearly constantly.
- Add in the garlic, followed by the chicken broth. Give it a good stir to ensure the flour has dissolved and everything is scraped up from the bottom of the pot.
- Add in the chicken, corn, cream, potatoes, Italian seasoning, cayenne pepper, and 3/4 of the bacon (I save the rest for garnishing the bowls later on). Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to a rapid simmer so it's gently boiling. Cover the pot with the lid slightly open.
- Cook until the potatoes are done (about 15-20 minutes). Stir every so often. The soup will get thicker the longer you cook it.
- Season the soup with salt & pepper as needed. Garnish with the rest of the bacon and chopped scallions if desired.
Notes
- Serves 4-6 depending on portion size.
- Yes, the chicken will cook right in the soup. If you want to use already cooked/rotisserie chicken, add in during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking so it doesn’t dry out too much since it’s already cooked.
- Anywhere around the 1.5-2 pound ballpark will work for the potatoes if you want to weigh them.
- This is a fairly thick soup. If you prefer a thinner consistency, add a splash more broth or water as needed.
- If you’re sensitive to salt, use low-sodium chicken broth.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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You don’t worry about the boiling the cream?
Nope. Milk or half-and-half yes. I haven’t had any issues w. curdling. 🙂
Another delicious recipe! I did it in the instant pot. Sauteed the bacon and veggies in the pot, added the remaining ingredients and cooked on manual for 12 minutes. Ended up sitting on warm for about 2 hours before dinner. It was perfect! I used whole milk instead of cream because that’s all I had. It wasn’t as creamy as the photo but still delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for the IP tips!
Followed the recipe exactly how it was written and turned out really good. A little prep work for the veggies, but very easy to make. The bacon really does give it a good flavor. My 7 yr old loved it. Will definitely be making again!!
Yay! I’m so glad it worked out! 🙂
Made this using 2 bone in, skin on chicken breasts, 1 carton of low sodium chicken bone broth, and 2 cans of low sodium cream of celery soup instead of the cream and flour. I left the potatoes and corn out until the chicken breasts were fully cooked, then removed them, removed the skin and bones and shredded the meat. Then added small red potatoes and fresh frozen white corn. Cooked another hour at low heat. Sprinkled the bacon bits and chopped scallions on top and yummy. ItWAS AWESOME!
So glad it worked out! 🙂
I reviewed this recipe last year and just made it again. Once again, absolutely delicious! My family loved it! I made a few tweaks based on our preferences…added a jalapeño, some creamed corn, and substituted a whole can of coconut milk for heavy cream (lactose intolerant). This time around, I prepared everything on the stove top until the simmer stage and then I transferred to a crock pot and cooked on low for 5-6 hours. Thanks again for a wonderful recipe!
That’s great! Interesting that it worked well with coconut milk… I just had someone ask me if it would work in another one of my chowder recipes. Thanks for the info and for commenting again – appreciate it! 🙂
Cooked bacon and the pureed celery, onion, and garlic (picky kids), roughly chopped semi frozen b/s chicken breasts in food processor, then transferred it all to a crockpot and cooked on high for 4 hours. Used cornstarch slurry instead of a roux. Everyone loves it.
Wonderful!
Excellent, hearty and flavorful!
So glad to hear it!
Should u you peel potatoes or leave skin on
Hi! I peeled them since the Russet skin is a little tough. I’ll update the recipe to reflect that. 🙂 Hope you like the soup!
This was delicious!
Awesome!!
I don’t use heavy cream. I use coconut milk and only Yukon golds here! But thanks for sharing. I am not able to follow a recipe with out additions to make it my own! I have never posted anything on this website and it says I already did. I’m done here
I think that’s because you hit enter on your comment. I will delete your original comment since it’s a duplicate.
When do you add the cream
Step 7.
I made this soup and it was great. I made a couple of changes, I added carrots and more bacon. It also needed a lit more salt, but it was delicious! I’ll be making this again!
I might add black beans next time!
I’m so happy you liked it, Ava! Yup, I always add plenty of salt when I cook… that is why I don’t list a quantity since everyone’s tastes differ.